No Knock Raids Militarizing the police

Music Video By Lindy
“No Knock Raid”

(Video contains actual footage of raids. Its a very powerful song and video however viewer discretion is advised.)

No Knock Raids (or SWAT Teams Raids) are when a dozen ore more police officers in full gear and artillery break into the homes of unaware citizens without warning. At one time these raids were used sparingly and ONLY when it was determined there would be a high probability of violence, which is why they they go in a militarized fashion. It also required probable cause which the War on Drugs has watered down to a point of being nonexistent. Judges are signing off on these RAIDS on hearsay alone. (Over 70,000 a year.) Because of this, RAIDS are now used dozens of times every day across America for reasons that would astound most people. The highest portion of them are for non-violent crimes, generally drug offenses. The toll this takes on the families and children, their pets and innocent bystanders is tremendous and beyond reason. (Many family pet dogs are killed on sight as the Maryland’s Mayor found out in a botched raid on his home. Video further down page.) Errors are made on a regular basis, and due to the tie in with asset forfeiture, it has created a situation where corruption is not uncommon. With so many mistakes being made, coupled with dishonesty, civilian and police deaths, terrorized children and family pets killed, these raids have turned our country into a police state where no citizenis safe. As with the War on Drugs, these raids create violence and harm rather than stopping it. Read Radley Balkos free downloadable book below on this page for dozens of stories. Or just pay attention to any U.S. news feeds… you will hear about botched raids regularly.

FREE PDF BOOK BY RADLEY BALKO“Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America”

Americans have long maintained that a man’s home is his castle and that he has the right to defend it from unlawful intruders. Unfortunately, that right may be disappearing. Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units (most commonly called Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT) for routine police work. The most common use of SWAT teams today is to serve narcotics warrants, usually with forced, unannounced entry into the home.

These increasingly frequent raids, 40,000 per year by one estimate, are needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders, and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they’re sleeping, usually by teams of heavily armed paramilitary units dressed not as police officers but as soldiers. These raids bring unnecessary violence and provocation to nonviolent drug offenders, many of whom were guilty of only misdemeanors. The raids terrorize innocents when police mistakenly target the wrong residence. And they have resulted in dozens of needless deaths and injuries, not only of drug offenders, but also of police officers, children, bystanders, and innocent suspects.